More Christmas Gifts for Travel Lovers

Following on from our previous list of Christmas gift ideas for travel lovers, we’re back, as promised, with some more. This time we have a little something for aviation geeks, travellers-in-waiting, comfort-lovers and wine enthusiasts. Don’t say we don’t make your life easier…

Vinni Inflatable Wine Bag

Need to buy something for a globetrotting oenophile this year? If the wine lover in your life is bringing home a bottle of expensive Sancerre from their favourite Loire Valley vineyard, they’ll be wanting to get it home in one piece. The inflatable Vinnibag is designed to securely hold a standard 750ml bottle of wine, but can be used for any number of epicurean delights – olive oil, balsamic vinegar, bison grass vodka – you name it. The bag can accommodate many different shapes and sizes, and is engineered to withstand altitude fluctuations and changes in temperature. And it can even double as a bath pillow when empty!

Miroslav Sasek’s Illustrated Children’s Travel Books

The evocative series of This is… children’s picture books by Czech author and illustrator Miroslav Sasek are a surefire way of giving your kids the travel bug. The first, This is Paris, was published in 1958 and a further 17 followed throughout the 1960s and early 70s. Most have been reissued over the last few years, so now a completely new generation has the chance to enjoy these whimsical depictions of local characters, landmarks and neighbourhoods in a somewhat arbitrary but appealing list of destinations that includes Greece, Texas, Israel, Hong Kong and Edinburgh.

Silkskin Eye Mask and Silk Travel Pillowcase

Silkskin Travel Pillowcase

For those who dislike the stiff, starchy, washed-hundreds-of-times pillowcases common to many hotel bedrooms, consider purchasing a Silkskin travel pillowcase as a Christmas gift. Not only are they hypoallergenic, but they are proven to be better for your skin and hair than ordinary cotton cases. The silk allows your hair to glide across the pillow, rather than being snagged, and those creases that you wake up with on your face? Banished. Now that has to be a good thing. Also great for an in-flight snooze is the light-blocking Silkskin eye mask filled with organic lavendar.

Air World: Design and Architecture for Air Travel

Air World, published by the Vitra Design Museum will have aviation fanatics, airline engineers, branding experts, product designers and plain old nostalgics weeping for joy. We can vouch for this book – it is fantastic. Full of large colour photographs and illustrations of airline interiors, airport architecture, flight attendant uniforms, the graphics of air travel posters and even on-board utensils, it’s a fascinating celebration of the aesthetics of civilian air travel since regular scheduled airline flights began in 1919.

Air World: Design and Architecture for Air Travel, £39.99, available at Amazon.

Percy and Reed Va Va Volume Travel Kit

For those who want to ensure they always look their best on their travels, this Percy and Reed hair care travel kit could be the answer. The sun, a hot and humid climate, salt water and air-conditioning can all do their part in turning lovely locks into a dry, frizzled mess, so to avoid having a headful of coconut matting, treat someone to this luxury range, which includes a shampoo and conditioner, volumising mousse, bodifying cream, a ‘no oil’ volumising oil and firm hold hairspray.

About Maxine Sheppard

Maxine is the co-editor of the Virgin Atlantic blog. Travel and music are her joint first loves, and despite having written for Virgin for more years than she cares to remember she still loves nothing more than jumping on a plane in search of new sights and new sounds.